BEIRUT – The Beirut Souks exhibition space recently displayed a dozen artworks and blueprints for parks and urban gardens submitted as part of the competition “I Green Beirut.” Each of the works presented visions for adding some green to Lebanon’s concrete capital through gardens, organic markets and photographs inspired by the environment.

The competition was organized and launched in August 2018 by Junior Chamber International, an NGO promoting youth engagement in local communities, in partnership with United Nations Information Centre Beirut and the Municipality of Beirut. The six-month-long project brought together professional artists and designers and students to present ways to transform three areas around Beirut into green spaces.

The competition consisted of three divisions — professional landscape, student landscape and artistic — with a winner being selected from each category and given the opportunity to implement their project. A panel of judges announced the winners on Feb. 3.

Mirella Antoun, an architect and urban planner, won the professional landscape category with her proposal, EcoSpot.